counting down the months
by PoetryRebel
Summary: It was silent for a moment before a familiar voice was distinguished in the background. "Dez, who are you talking to?" Austin smiled inwardly. "Hello?" the voice repeated, now clearly speaking directly into the phone. "Ally," Austin said. "It's your biggest fan." / or twelve months until Austin's tour is over, and he can come home (T for one tiny swear word)


_March 1__st__, 2013_

"_World tour, huh?" Ally said, smiling meekly. He shrugged and forced a smile._

"_I hear it's nice in Vancouver," she said. "Take a picture for me?"_

"_Of course."_

"_How long until I see you again?" she whispered, her masquerade crumpling._

"_A year," Austin murmured. She let a strand of hair fall in front of her face and he tucked it securely behind her ear, taking her hand in his._

"_A year," she repeated._

"_Ally, I…"_

_She cut him off by pressing herself into his chest, embracing his warm figure while she still could. He wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his face in his hair._

"_I'm sorry," he whispered._

"_Don't be. This is huge," she muffled in his chest. He could feel tears staining his polo. "It's only a year."_

"_Right," he said. "Only a year."_

The sound check blaring in his ears drew him out of his flashback.

"_Moon, you're on in ten,"_ Vince called from the set.

Austin nodded and clicked open his guitar case. He thought about calling Ally. Glancing at his watch, he realized it was near four in the morning.

Time zones sucked almost as much as distance.

He sighed and pulled the Gibson out of its case, strumming the strings lightly.

Eleven months.

/

_April 1__st__, 2013_

He got a phone call from Ally at midnight. For him, rather. It was early morning where she was, and he could hear the water running as she brushed her teeth with him on speakerphone.

"How's Tokyo?" she said, mouth full of toothpaste. He bit back a laugh as his lips curled into a smile.

"It's great. I wish you could see it, Ally. You'd love it."

She smiled faintly and the water switched off. "I'm sure I would."

"I miss you," he said quietly into the phone.

The water was back on, this time more faint. He assumed the phone was now up to her ear.

"Sorry, what was that? I was trying to wash the toothpaste off my shirt."

He smiled inwardly at the thought. "I said, I miss you."

"I miss you too," she said, and he could hear the _clink clink_ noises her heels made as she pranced from the bathroom to the kitchen. "How long until I see you again?"

"Ten months," he said. "Don't eat pancakes. It'll only hurt me."

"Luckily for you, we're out. My dad's home, I gotta go. Talk to you soon?" she asked, voice laced with regret.

"Of course. It's fine Ally, I'm tired anyways," he said, trying his best to reassure her. "Ten months."

"Ten months," she repeated.

/

_May 1__st__, 2013_

"Hey, man, how's the U.K.?" Dez said in an awful British accent. Austin chuckled.

"It's fine. What's up?"

"Nothing. I got plans to hang out with Ally and Trish later. Wanna come?"

"I'd love to buddy, but I'm kind of in a different country," he said.

"Ah, right, bus fare. That's okay. Ally misses you, by the way. We all miss you."

"I miss you guys, too."

It was silent for a moment before a familiar voice was distinguished in the background. "Dez, who are you talking to?"

"Hello?" the voice repeated, which was clearly speaking directly into the phone.

"Ally," Austin said. "It's your biggest fan."

"Hey, Austin. I hear you're in the U.K., which is great. Maybe you can get David Tennant's autograph for me?"

"Who?"

"_Doctor_ who, actually," she said, taking a minute to laugh at her reference. "Ah, sorry. Dez and I were just about to get a bite to eat. Can I call you when we get home?"

"I got a gig," he said. "But that's okay, go out. I'll see you again soon."

"Nine months," Ally said, not missing a beat. "I've been keeping count."

"Nine months."

/

_June 1__st__, 2012_

"What's up Ireland?" Austin boomed to the crowd in front of him, listening to the sound of them cheer. "I'm Austin Moon!"

After performing what seemed like an eternity of songs, security escorted him throughout the mob of shrieking fan girls, desperately trying to get anything from Austin. He noticed one of them had a sign that said Austin & Ally on it, making him smile bigger than he'd had since he'd been abroad. The fans were nice, really, but he couldn't help but compare every girl to Ally. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, or some other sentimental shit like that, right?

"Austin! How long until you're back in Miami?" one girl shouted from amidst the crowd.

"I bet Ally's waiting for you!"

_Great,_ he thought. Even his own fans knew. Of course, Cheetah Beat had covered the "Auslly" issue for quite some time.

"Eight months," he called out, throwing a cliché peace sign up to the crowd.

He could've sworn he heard Ally repeat it back to him.

/

_August 1__st__, 2013_

Tonight, they skyped.

It was rather awkward, with it being almost two in the morning her time, and afternoon his.

"Your tour is trending on Tweeter," Ally said. "You're all anybody talks about."

He chuckled. "You know, quite a few fans have asked me about you."

"Really?" she asked. "They ask where your back-up dancer was?"

"They asked me where my partner was. Said I looked lonely without you," he replied. "And maybe I am."

She smiled bashfully, feeling a blush creep up on her cheeks, only to be disturbed by a yawn. "Time zones suck, huh?"

"Almost as much as distance," he said, grinning from ear to ear.

She yawned again, fluttering her eyelids open, like it was a fight to keep them from closing. "How long until I see you again, again?" She very well knew how long. Even if he hadn't told her earlier, she would know. She's been counting down the days, weeks, months, hours. All leading to one year.

"Seven months," he said.

"Seven months," she slurred.

He looked back to the computer, only to find her fast asleep.

/

_September 1__st__, 2013_

"Where are you now, Mister Worldwide?" Trish asked as their phone call conversation declined.

"Somewhere in Syphapore, I think," Austin murmured. "Ally's better at Geology than me."

"That's geography," Ally cut in. "Singapore. Six month mark."

Trish laughed. "I can't believe you've been gone a whole six months without seeing Ally and you haven't gone crazy."

"Believe me, I have," Austin replied. "I'm going out of my head."

"How long?" Ally piped up, not even needing to complete the sentence.

"Six months."

"Six months," she said. "Halfway."

"Halfway," he said.

/

_October 1st, 2013_

"Moon, we got an hour 'til showtime. You want to call your girlfriend?" Vince perked up, relocating the drums to the centre stage.

"She's not my girlfriend," Austin said. "And she's at her Mom's this week."

"Right, right," Vince muttered. "You wish she was, though?"

"_At her mom's?" _Austin repeated.

"No, your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend!"

Vince face palmed. "I mean, you wish she was your girlfriend, right?"

Austin shrugged his shoulders. "I wish I was home."

Vince chuckled slightly. "I bet she does too. It's alright. Five months, man. Then you're back home."

"Five months," Austin said. "Longer than it sounds."

/

_September 1__st__, 2013_

_Ah-choo!_

"How's Austra-_cough-lia?" _Ally choked out, her voice croaky and raspy.

"It's great. I met Simon Baker," Austin said. "I got his autograph for you. I mean, he's no Daniel Tennant, but still."

"_Dabid,"_ Ally corrected, as best she could with a head cold. "_Dabid_ Tennant."

"Riiight," Austin said. "You sound awful."

"Gee, thanks," she chocked out. "Ebby girl loves hearing that."

"Are you okay?" he asked, ignoring her sarcasm.

"Just a heab cold," she said. "Small fever, but I'm okay. It helbs me write songs."

"I hope you're not singing with that voice," Austin said. "You need some rest."

She murmured something that sounded like "mmhmm," and the line went dead for a few moments. "Hey, Austin, four mombths, right?"

"Four months," he said.

/

_November 1__st__, 2013_

When she answers his call, he's glad to see she doesn't sound stuffy anymore. In fact, she's buzzing around Sonic Boom.

"I'm in Canada, and I think you're getting more exercise than me," Austin huffed.

"At least the time difference isn't so bad," Ally said. "You're in…Ontario, right?"

"Yep. God, it's cold. You should see the snow here, Ally. It's nothing like Miami."

"Unfortunately, I can't," she said. "But you could take me there, one day. Maybe even bring me on tour with you."

"Of course," he said. "Just the two of us."

"How long until we can plan that?" she asked subtly, a smirk playing at her lips that he was unable to see.

"Four months," he said. "The number's going down."

"Four months," she repeated, once again. "I like the sound of that."

/

_December 1__st__, 2013_

"Merry Christmas," he says, as he picks up the phone.

"It's not Christmas," she said. "It's the first."

"We always talk on the first though," he said. "And I have a show on Christmas."

"Oh. Merry Christmas to you too, then," Ally said. "_And a happy new year…"_

"I think I'll be able to call you on new years," Austin said, chuckling. "After all, there's only three months left."

"Three months."

/

_January 1__st__, 2014_

"Guess who's in Vancouver?" Austin said.

"Uhm, you?" Ally smirked.

"You're good at this game. Ah, yes. And I got _plenty _of pictures for you."

"Thank you, Austin," she said sweetly. "And you were able to call on New Years after all."

"Yep. I wouldn't miss it."

"Two months, right?"

"About that, Ally. My manager wants me to do another gig, so it's going to be another month," Austin said.

"Oh," Ally said. "_Oh. Well, I've got to get to bed. Night, Austin."_

She hung up the phone without repeating the month to him. It hurt him, but it was well worth it.

/

_February 1__st__, 2014_

He didn't call this month. Vince phoned and said he was extremely busy, but he was really just speeding through the last concerts that he could.

It would all be worth it.

/

_March 1__st__, 2014_

She called this time.

"Hey, Ally, sorry about last m-"

"It's okay, Austin," she said. "I understand. What's up?"

"Oh, nothing. Just chilling," he said as he walked up the sidewalk to her street.

"When are you coming home?" she whispered, her voice full of angst. "Wait, hold that thought, someone's knocking on my door."

He could hear her light footsteps on the wood as she opened the door, only to find him there, phone still pressed to his ear.

"I'm already there," he said. Her phone dropped to the ground as she practically leaped into his arms, legs wrapping around his hips as he held her up. She screamed and cried, more out of joy than anything as he spun her around, letting her sob into his shoulder.

"You did this on purpose, didn't you?" Ally said, lifting her head up. "Making me worry, just to come early?"

He shrugged. "I figured it'd be fun."

She slapped him playfully. "You ass."

"Did Ally Dawson, goody two shoes, just curse?" he said in genuine shock.

"It's your fault," Ally said, wrapping her arms around his neck. He smirked.

"Before we plan that trip, Als, there's something I've wanted to do for longer than a year."

With her legs already wrapped around his waist and his hands on her back, he leaned in and pressed his lips on her. He could feel her smile into the kiss until she kissed back, almost causing him to lose his balance in the process. When they pulled away, she leaned into his chest as she had done a year prior.

"I'm going with you, next tour. No questions asked," she breathed into his chest.

"Deal," he said, pressing his lips against hers again. She smiled and began to kiss back, before pulling away to ask him.

"How long until _we're_ going?"


End file.
